CUSTOMER INTEGRATION AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF FOOD AND BEVERAGES MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of customer integration on the competitive advantage of food and beverages manufacturing firms in Kenya. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was used in this investigation. Managers from 270 food and beverage production companies in Kenya were targeted as part of the study. A sample size of 146 comprising of supply chain, procurement, operations and finance managers was obtained using two-stage sampling design. Cluster random sampling was utilized in the first stage to find 73 food and beverage production companies. In the second stage, convenience sampling was employed to choose two participants from among the 73 firms that had been chosen. Research questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The drop-and-pick approach, along with emailing the questionnaires, were used to obtain data. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed by utilizing descriptive statistics in SPSS version 28. Inferential analysis was carried out, with a focus on correlation as well as regression analysis, and also hypothesis testing. Tables were used to display the findings. Results: Customer integration and competitive advantage of food and beverage manufacturing enterprises in Kenya had a positive significant association (R =.661, p =.000), according to the data. This meant that consumer integration boosted the competitiveness of Kenyan food and beverage manufacturers. Customer integration and competitive advantage of food and beverage manufacturing enterprises in Kenya were also shown to have a positive and statistically significant association (R =.661, R2 =.379), according to the study. As a result, customer integration accounted for 66.1 percent of the variation in food and beverage manufacturing enterprises' competitive advantage. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: While existing theory was validated, the study recommends that managers of food and beverages manufacturing firms should build procedures and policies that link to a superior understanding of the customer in order to meet their expectations. The study also recommends that the food and beverages industry regulators should devise policies that would allow food and beverage manufacturers to integrate with customers and thus help avoid losses that impact the efficiency of these businesses and eventually the economy as a whole. The study suggests that the government takes a more systematic approach to ensuring the growth and development of customer integration in Kenyan food and beverage manufacturing firms in order to maintain a competitive edge. Moreover, empirical research needs to be conducted to establish the effect of customer integration on the competitive advantage of other sub-sectors of manufacturing in the economy.